


Noodles and Icebreakers

by the_glare_you_see



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Ferrets, Gen, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, Katherine Howard Needs A Hug, Kits sad, Power point presentation, Touch-Starved, and she gets one, bc they aer, but dont worry, did yall know emotional support ferrets were a thing??, i guess, ive been on this site for a few years and i still cant tag (-_-|||), she gets better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:54:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29338632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_glare_you_see/pseuds/the_glare_you_see
Summary: It was the cold that first greeted her when she woke.Cold and then searing pain.orKit's cold and touch-starved
Comments: 20
Kudos: 45





	Noodles and Icebreakers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Reign_of_Glory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reign_of_Glory/gifts).



> haiii
> 
> i had an idea and vibes and this was born
> 
> pls feel free to leave comments and kudos bc they make my day
> 
> stay safe yall and check up on your friends and say hi to them 
> 
> let them know you love them
> 
> <3 Zen

It was the cold that first greeted her when she woke. 

Cold and then searing pain.

No matter where she went, or how many layers she wore, she was always cold. Freezing was more accurate— like a popsicle, as Anne called her.

It was fine, though; it meant that people kept their distance. There was less of a chance of her being wrapped up in a hug when she would just press her hands into the warmth of their necks or backs and have them squeal and run away.

\----

Someone settled next to her on the couch— near enough that Kit could feel the warmth that radiated off of them. She blinked slowly and looked over. Catalina was there, one arm slung over the back of the couch and a leg tucked under her in a distinctly unladylike manner. 

“Hi, Lina,” she said. 

_ “Chiquita,” _ Catalina replied with a small smile, “how’re you today?”

“I’m good.” She felt a small smile emerge at the pet name.

“Good, that’s good…” Catalina fell silent, and Kit swallowed. 

“So… did you need anything?”

The Spaniard shook her head. “No, not at the moment. I just thought I’d come say hi.”

She chuckled. “That’s nice of you.”

“What about you?” Catalina asked. “What do you need?” The smile faded and she balled her hands into fists. The cold tips of her fingers pressed into her palms and she shrugged.

_ Hold me. _

“Nothing,” she replied.

_ Just hold me,  _ _ please. _

“I’m fine.” She flashed what she hoped was a convincing smile and stood. Catalina frowned up at her, caught her hand, and held it gently. She forced herself to stay still. Catalina was safe and she trusted her. She was fine.

“It’s ok to not be ok, you know. As cheesy as it sounds,” she said softly. The warmth from her palms seeped into Kit’s cold hands and she could feel the request on the tip of her tongue, could feel the words pressing against her lips, ready to slip out at any moment. With some effort, she swallowed them back and nodded.

“I know,” she replied and pulled away. 

Immediately, the warmth was gone and she hurried out of the room before she could collapse into Catalina’s arms.

\----

“I’m late, I know,” Anne said as she rushed into the dining room. Catalina shut her mouth and raised a brow. 

“What kept you?’ she asked, tilting her head slightly as Anne pressed a quick kiss to her temple. Kit averted her eyes and stared at the bowl of mixed veggies in front of her. She pulled her hoodie sleeves over her fingers and shoved them in her pockets in a last-ditch attempt to warm them up.

“Traffic,” Anne replied as she plopped down into her seat next to Kit, “I didn’t mean to make you guys wait. You could’ve started without me.”

“We get  _ one _ family dinner a day, so of course we were waiting,” Catalina replied, reaching for the grilled chicken in front of her. Anna caught Kit’s eye from the other end of the table and rolled her eyes in exaggeration.

“Anna I saw that!”

Anna pressed a hand to her chest and batted her eyes. “I didn’t do anything, your highness, you must be seeing things in your old age.”

Catalina sputtered and the rest of the table erupted into laughter. Kit felt a band in her chest loosen and she reached for the veggies, letting Anne’s dramatic storytelling wash over her.

\----

Kit trudged up to her room, methodically placing one foot in front of the other. Her legs felt shaky and her eyes filled with tears.

She felt so  _ happy _ earlier, she’d laughed and joked and ‘made merry’ or whatever the fuck they called it. But when dinner ended, she left before the silence could get too much. 

If she had to stew in silence, if she had to let it dig its sharp claws into her brain and seep into her skin, she’d rather face it alone. She did hope, somewhere deep down, that somebody would follow her. She shut the door behind her and shakily exhaled. She sunk to the floor and curled her knees up under her chin as she gripped her arms tightly.

_ Noonecaresnoonecaresnoonecaresnoonelasdfjlkfajsld— _

“Shut  _ up,” _ she hissed. She curled her knees tighter to her chest and blinked hard. Her tears streamed down her face and she sniffled. She dragged the palm of her hand harshly across her cheek and laughed weakly.

_ Pathetic. _

Three knocks vibrated through the door and she cleared her throat.

“What?” she called and shut her eyes in relief when her voice came out steady.

“Can I come in?” Anna called. She sighed and tugged the door open.

Anna raised a brow. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” she said.

“No, you’re fine,” Kit muttered, surreptitiously wiping her eyes, “did you need something?”

Anna hesitated for a moment then nodded. “I was wondering if I could have a hug?”

She froze and her eyes widened. “...from me?” she asked, just to double-check. 

Anna nodded. 

“I— ok, sure.” 

She took a deep breath then awkwardly pulled the German into a loose hug, unsure if she was doing it correctly. The tension from Anna’s shoulder’s melted away and she felt warm arms gently wrap around her waist and—

Oh, those were tears. How embarrassing. 

She sniffled and felt Anna draw her closer in response. Before Kit could pull away, her arms tightened around the German’s neck and she buried her face in Anna’s shoulder. She was so warm and soft and  _ God _ all she wanted was for someone to hold her.

“You’re ok, Katze,” she heard Anna whisper as she clung to the German’s frame, “Just let it out, I’m here.”

\----

“Did you know that ferrets can be emotional support animals?” Cathy asked as she peered over the top of her laptop. 

Kit raised a brow, curled up under a blanket. “They can?”

Cathy nodded and leaned forward. She turned her laptop and showed her the website. “They’re cute, aren’t they?” she asked with a tiny smile. Kit leaned forward and squinted. 

“Yeah…”

\----

She spent the next few days feverishly researching anything and everything she could find on ferrets and painstakingly transferred them onto a PowerPoint, complete with adorable pictures, gifs, and videos that she happened to find along the way.

\----

Kit paced in front of the television, nervously re-reading her cue cards and double-checking that her laptop was properly connected. That morning she had sent out a text requesting a family meeting at three (“be there or be square” she had typed, much to her regret.) 

She just had to convince five— no four, since Cathy was the one that had brought it up in the first place. She had to convince four headstrong, newly reincarnated queens that getting an emotional support ferret was a good idea. A great one, actually.

“And you’ll find that they’re not much trouble and can be trained to—” Her head jerked up at the sound of footsteps and she let the rest of her sentence trail off as the queens filed in. Cathy shot her an encouraging smile and a thumbs-up as she perched on the armrest.

“Right, what’s this meeting about, Kit?” Jane asked, smiling brightly at her. Kit cleared her throat and started her presentation.

“Queens, thank you for taking time out of your schedules to join me here.” She cleared her throat again and flipped to the next card. “As you can tell by the title, ferrets are the topic of the day.”

She flipped to the next slide, smiling slightly when the gif of a  [ dancing ferret ](https://giphy.com/gifs/tiktok-cute-ferret-dancing-VbhLF9VRbTHZLgwgz2) appeared. Anne let out a quiet “aww” and she felt her smile grow. It seemed like her cousin was already on board. 

\----

“And that is why I think that getting a ferret will be beneficial to the household,” she concluded, and the “thank you” gif played on in the background. “Are there any questions?”

Catalina’s lips twitched into a grin.  _ “Chiquita, _ would getting a ferret benefit  _ you?” _

Kit swallowed harshly and nodded. “Please?” she asked, about two seconds away from getting to her knees and begging. Her dignity was not important at that moment and she would happily sacrifice it if it meant that she would be able to get one. “Please, can I get a ferret?”

Catalina glanced around the group, the smile still fixed on her face and Kit felt the ball of nerves in her stomach grow tenfold. They were going to say no. They were going to say no and enjoy it and laugh at her when she ended up crying—

“Of course, Katze!” Anna said with a chuckle, “We were never going to say no, you’ve been so  _ excited _ these past few days!”

Kit blinked. “What?”

“This week was the most I’ve ever seen you smile if I’m being honest,” Anne added with a grin, “What kind of a cousin would I be if I said no to that.”

“Love, if it makes you happy, we’re going to say yes,” Jane said, “I’ll even take you.”

Anne gasped in offense. “Excuse you,  _ I _ was her cousin first!” The second queen turned to Kit with a grin.  _ “I’ll _ take you, Kitty.”

Jane narrowed her eyes. “Since when were  _ you _ the one who made the decisions in this family? I wouldn’t trust you to get to the supermarket, which is down the street!”

“Ok, square up bitch—”

“Ladies!” Cathy said, loud enough to break through whatever Anne’s response was, “How about you let  _ Kit _ choose?”

Anne shut her mouth and turned to Kit with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Kitty. Which of us would you like to take you?”

Kit fiddled with her sweater sleeves and shrugged. “Both of you, actually,” she replied quietly, “I haven’t really spent any time with you both and I’d really appreciate it if you both came.”

Anne and Jane traded a look and some unspoken agreement was cast.

“Alright, love,” Jane said, “When would you like to go?”

“This weekend?” she suggested, twisting her sweater sleeves tightly, “I checked the shelter and they’re open, eleven to five.”

“Wow, you are one prepared presenter,” Anne said. “Saturday at eleven work for you then?”

It was here that she finally realized that they meant it. An excited squeal escaped her mouth and she practically jumped into her cousins’ arms and wrapped them up in a tight hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she chanted, letting go of them just as quickly and sprinting up the stairs. 

She missed the surprised looks on both their faces and the hint of tears glimmering in Anne’s eyes.

\----

As much as she tried, Kit couldn’t seem to stop herself from bouncing up and down out of sheer excitement. She had burst into the dining room that morning, a wide grin stretching across her face, and practically inhaled her breakfast. 

“Easy there, tiger,” Anne said, tossing Jane the keys and ducking into the seat, “We’ll get there.”

Kit inhaled deeply and managed to keep herself still, for the most part, until they made it to the shelter. As soon as Jane parked, she was off like a shot, rushing in and leaving her cousins in the dust. 

When she made it inside, she froze, as her excitement melted away into anxiety. What if none of the ferrets liked her? What if her research was wrong? What if this was all an elaborate prank—

“Kitty, are you ok?” Anne asked, stepping in front of her and meeting her eyes, “We don’t have to do this today if you’re not ready.”

Kit shook her head. “Sorry I just…” she shrugged, “Nerves, you know?”

“Ah,” Anne nodded, “That’s valid. Come on, the ferrets await!”

She followed Anne to the front desk and fiddled with her sweater as her cousin inquired about the ferrets. Jane nudged her and she jumped, her heart almost beating out of her chest.

“Sorry,” Jane whispered with a small frown.

“It’s ok,” she replied, just as quietly.

“Can I give you a hug?”

Kit pursed her lips and nodded jerkily. Jane smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, squeezing gently and holding her close. 

It felt… nice and her cousin was warm. Slowly, Kit let herself lean into her, basking in the comfort of the hug. They followed Anne and a volunteer to a section in the back. The ferrets jumped and ran around, playing with each other and the many toys that were scattered throughout the enclosure. One ferret, with a gorgeous coat of white with black and brown splotches running down its back noticed her and ran to the front. 

“Oh, it's a jumpy noodle,” Kit whispered, eyes wide with wonder. Anne snorted beside her and the volunteer laughed. 

“They are jumpy noodles,” she replied, “and quite a handful.”

“So I’ve heard,” Kit replied, stepping closer to the cages. The one in the front tilted its head before a toy caught its attention. It scuttled away only to rush back to the front and stare at her again. Kit stared back, one hand covering her mouth as she bit back a small squeal. 

\----

“This is Noodle,” Kit said, giggling as the ferret scuttled up her arm. Noodle settled around her neck, burrowing into her hoodie. Kit reached up and gently scritched his head, cooing softly. 

“Hi Noodle,” Cathy said, crouching before her with a mug of decaf in one hand and a handful of treats in the other, “Take care of Kit for me, will you?”

Noodle didn’t reply, only seized a treat and began nibbling. Cathy handed her the mug with a smile and Kit grinned in reply. 

“I think he’ll be good for you,” Cathy mused.

Kit giggled again when Noodle ran back up her arm and ducked behind her neck and under her hood.

“I agree,” she said, lifting her mug in a toast.

\----

**Author's Note:**

> gOsh I want a ferret laskdf;jkajfskd
> 
> scream at me on tumblr: [@judging-seahorse](https://judging-seahorse.tumblr.com/)
> 
> lmao okie baii


End file.
